


Stockholm syndrome

by eliocentrica



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Harry Potter, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23595163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliocentrica/pseuds/eliocentrica
Summary: Draco Malfoy is waiting the end of his trial. He is sure he will spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. But then Auror-in-training Harry Potter turns the situation upside down.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 13
Kudos: 131





	1. Prologue - The sentence

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing Drarry. I have already written all chapters and I will publish them at short intervals.

**Prologue – The sentence**

  
  


He thought he could see the ceiling of his cell even when his eyes were closed, what with the fact that he'd been locked up in there for months now, during his Wizengamot trial. When he looked at himself in the mirror, the face showing up in front of him was not his own—overgrown ragged blond hair, a sort of beard growing every which way, purple circles around his eyes, grey skin. It was difficult to present oneself decently before the whole Wizengamot court when you did not have access to a wand. He was left to his own devices when it came to grooming and a lack of a wand (or house-elf, for that mattered) made everything just about impossible.

The first few days had definitely been harder, coming from the Manor were he had access to every comfort just with a swish of his wand or with a click of his fingers. But soon enough he found that being a convict in the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War, and having _apparently_ fought from within the Dark Lord's closest circle, meant that treatment was harsher on him in every aspect of his trial and conviction. His will, never strong on the matter of the War, started to waver quite soon after the older generation of Death Eaters had been shipped off to Azkaban as a result of hasty trials.

He himself was few days away from being read his sentence, which—he knew—meant it was going to mirror his Father's. He had almost come to terms with the fact that the rest of his life was going to be spent in Azkaban.

And, hopefully, the rest of his life would be very short. He definitely could not endure it and he decided he was going to let himself wither away.

  
  


~*~

  
  


He was sitting on the wooden chair, tight shackles bonding his wrists and ankles to it, his head was hanging low over his chest. Remissive was the best attitude when interrogated by the Wizengamot. He found that some of the members would take pity on him if he acted weaker, and they would go easy on him.

He was brought there at some point in the day. It was hard for him to tell the hours since his cell had no windows, just like every other space in the underground level of the Ministry of Magic. Despite this, he thought it was nearing dusk.

He could not hear much noise coming from upstairs when he walked the dimly lit corridor from the holding cells to the Wizengamot court room. As usual none of the Aurors spoke to him while they walked but he felt some kind of tension running among them, and concluded that it was time for his sentence.

Scrimgeour, the Minister of Magic, entered the room and silence fell all-round among the members of the Wizengamot, who had quietly been whispering under their breaths. Malfoy kept his head down.

Someone from the right-side group of the judicial assembly rose, cleared their throat and started reading:

“We are here today, in the presence of the Ministry of Magic to give sentence to Draco Malfoy, on various accounts of murder, torture, performance of Dark magic while acting under the lead of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Draco Malfoy——you have been found guilty on all accounts and have been sentenced to life in Azkaban. You will be transferred tonight.”

Malfoy's head slumped a bit more when the person who read the sentence sat down on their chair. In that moment he gave up hope completely.

But in that same moment he could hear the guards outside fussing to block someone from entering the room.

“Mr Scrimgeour, I would like to make a statement before the trial is over” the voice was coming closer, as the person managed to get past the guards and get in.

Malfoy raised his head quickly causing himself a jolt of pain in his neck. He could not believe his eyes—Harry Potter, the Saviour, was standing a few feet away from him in the well of the room.

“If you must, Mr Potter...” responded the Minister unwilling to hear what Potter had to say.

“I wish to appeal the case on behalf of Draco Malfoy” said Potter in a steady voice and squaring his shoulder to project confidence.

He was met with rising whispers by the whole court.

The Minister raised his hand to make everybody quiet down and said in a vexed tone, “Make you case... briefly.”

“Well, Minister, I made statements to show how Malfoy was an unwilling participant from the early stages of the War. I hoped this would give you reason to lessen his sentence. As it is not the case, I wish to make a proposition for Malfoy's conviction. That is, while I make my case to prove that it is within reason to lessen it.”

“What are you saying, Mr Potter?”

“Well, as Auror-in-training, sir, we are required to keep guard on house-arrest criminals. I wish to be the Auror appointed to Malfoy's house-arrest. Which is my proposition to the assembly.”

Malfoy forced his head down again, to avoid showing the disbelieving look stuck on his face. Why on the bloody Earth would Saint Potter ever defend him? He must surely be hallucinating under the influence of some kind of poison... just one of the perks of being interrogated by the Wizengamot. Being a former Death Eater, Scrimgeour closed both his eyes more than once at the unorthodox methods used by the Aurors to extract information and confessions from him.

Following the swirl of thoughts going through his mind, Malfoy didn't notice at first that the Wizengamot was actually discussing Potter's proposition loudly.

Minutes, which seemed hours, passed before representatives from each group stood and declared their vote.

The Aurors were against. _As if there could be a different outcome there_ , Draco thought.

The High Court said to be open to the possibility but only under strict conditions, which _they_ would discuss and write up.

The last word was up to the Minister.

“Given your stance in our society since the War, Mr Potter, and given how you have been fighting for this criminal since the very beginning of his trial, I believe there might be a possibility of reintroducing this criminal into our society in the future. The Ministry will show that it is possible to be redeemed and reformed, if one is willing and if one demonstrates the change. We need, after all, to mend what has damaged our society in the past decades... and showing mercy to those who had a lesser impact on the War is one of the possible ways of doing that. Thus, Mr Potter, the Wizengamot grants a house-arrest sentence to Draco Malfoy, and its conditions will be read to him during the next and final hearing of this trial.” The Minister paused to let the turn of events sink in. “All interested parties will be summoned when we are ready. For now, you are dismissed.”

Out of the corner of his eye Malfoy saw Potter nod his head in thanks to Scrimgeour and leave hastily.

The Aurors who had escorted Malfoy to the trial room, escorted him back to his cell at wand-point as if they were worried he would rebel. Malfoy still could not process what had just happened and walked limply to his cell.

Once alone, he laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Could this be his lucky break?

  
  


~*~

  
  


Harry was in his kitchen, standing next to the window sill and looking out. His new 'house-mate' was sitting at the table stiffly. Malfoy was definitely not at ease. He had completely lost his charm and pompous attitude in the course of his trial. Or maybe it had always been just a façade and Malfoy had always been weak inside. Harry could not decide.

But he could not forget the fear in Malfoy's eyes during Sixth year at Hogwarts; he then found out that Voldemort had made him a Death Eater with the immense task of killing Dumbledore and of finding a way to get the Death Eaters into the school.

Harry could not forget when Malfoy lied at the presence of his Mother, his Aunt Bellatrix and the Snatchers when he had been in search of the Horcruxes with Hermione. Harry felt that Malfoy had recognised him despite the Stinging Charm Hermione had cast on him before being captured. Still, Malfoy denied his identity.

Then, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry could not forget Malfoy's pleading look in the Room of Requirement when fleeing from the Fiendfyre, nor his look of terror when Crabbe vanished in flames.

Harry thought there was something there to build on.

Since they met when they were eleven year-old children, Harry had hated Malfoy. But then, he had also hated Snape and look how that turned out...

Yes, there was something good inside Malfoy and Harry decided it was worth trying to save it, and nurture it and possibly he would make him a better man in the future. It was a risky move on his part; it might earn him disfavours from some of the older Aurors who held grudges against the Malfoys since the first Voldemort-resistance era, and it might make his Auror training harder and his graduation farther in time. But Harry was never the one to step away from a risky road and, besides, Dumbledore had always relied on his ability to love others and on his compassion. So that was that.

Harry Potter was going to be Draco Malfoy's appointed Auror during his house-arrest and that meant bringing his arch-enemy from school into his home. The Manor had obviously been confiscated by the Ministry, being the scene of multiple crimes and the source of much dark magic, so they couldn't very well just walk in there and move in.

Harry was lost in his thoughts when Malfoy cleared his throat to remind him of his presence there.

“I thought you said we had to go through some ground rules...” he said with an indignant tone—it was beneath him to remind his prison-guard of his job but he also wanted to trick him into thinking that he was really willing to 'give it a try' as Harry had put it on their way to his house.

“Ah... yes... Sorry, I was just taking a moment to collect my thoughts on how to go about with this.” Harry said in a resigned tone. Then he took a breath, looked at Malfoy straight in they eyes and started talking in a steadier voice. “Well, here it is:

You must not touch my wand—or any other wand—for any reason, even if you are attacked and fear for your life.

You must not go outside the walls of this house. There are, of course, wards in place to prevent you from doing that.

You must not communicate with anybody but me, unless you are instructed otherwise by me, by one of the Aurors or by a Member of the Wizengamot High Jury or the Minister of Magic himself. There's a fireplace, as I'm sure you saw, but it is only connected to the Aurors headquarters so I guess it would be pointless for you to try and escape via Floo only to be caught by a bunch of vengeful Aurors.

You must follow my orders at all times.

I want to assure you that I will not inflict physical pain on you but we might go through situations where emotional and psychological pain might present. I apologise in advance for that, but please know it is necessary for your redemption or, at least, to prove to them that you're worth more than your Mark shows.” Harry's gaze drifted to Malfoy's left arm for a moment before continuing.

“There are some other minor things, but I will illustrate them as we carry on this arrangement. If, at any point, you are in doubt as to what your limitations are, please do ask me so we can avoid unpleasant consequences and we can move on with your recovery without incidents.”

Harry stopped for a moment with his monologue. Malfoy showed no signs of having heard any of what he just said so he continued in his newly practised authoritative Auror voice. “Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, whatever... I'm in prison, still.” Malfoys said sitting back on his chair. “But can I use the bathroom in private?”

Harry rolled his eyes at Malfoy's attitude, “I guess it's time for a short house-tour. Go on, follow me.”

  
  


~*~

  
  


Malfoy was finally alone in the bathroom. He took off his ragged clothes which he had been wearing for months now and got into the shower. Cleaning himself without magic was not new to him. He had learnt this while imprisoned. He still disliked it and would much rather use cleansing spells and potions but it would have been silly to provoke Potter and steal his wand just to clean himself up.

On the other hand, he was satisfied with the fact that Potter had not bothered him for the entire time he stayed under the shower jet. Taking his own time was something which had been impossible for months now. Aurors were always escorting him from his cell to the interrogation room and back, or from his cell to the court room and back. The only time he had for himself was when he was left in his cell alone. And that wasn't pleasant.

Malfoy tried not to indulge in thoughts of pain and restraint. He decided to get out of the shower after fifteen minutes or so. The mirror on top of the sink had gone opaque from steam so he grabbed another towel to wipe it clean and inspect himself.

He still looked improper but at least he felt clean. He decided he was going to ask Potter to give him a pair of those scissors that had been given to him to cut his hair and beard by the Aurors over the course of his stay in the Wizengamot prison. He would have to become accustomed at doing things the Muggle way.

With a sigh Malfoy turned around to get dressed in his dirty clothes but then noticed that there were some fresh ones on the floor next to the door. He picked them up and found a pair of simple black cotton trousers and a long-sleeved black shirt. _Potter might have slipped them in while I was in the shower_ , he thought. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

He was definitely glad he could wear new clothes and possibly throw away the one he had worn throughout his imprisonment. But he did not want to concede it to Potter that he had been thoughtful, given that Malfoy owned nothing but rags.

_Maybe I could take advantage of his need to save everybody_ , a part of him thought while dressing up. He suppressed the part where he felt some hope deeper inside him.

With another sigh Malfoy got out of the bathroom deciding he was going to be ready for whatever came his way. Nothing could be worse than what he'd faced so far.


	2. Chapter 1 – Two Years Later

“Oy, hands off my plate!” Draco complains while smacking Harry's hand on the table. “You said yourself that it isn't ethical to take advantage of a criminal who's serving his sentence as a path to reform just so that the Ministry can prove how fake they are!”

Harry sniggers and retreats his hand then resumes eating his sandwich. “Well, how was I to know that you would pick up Muggle cooking so easily and become an excellent chef!? I wanna try your food... it isn't like I'm taking it away and starving you, for Merlin's sake!” he responds.

“Go on, then...” Draco says stabbing a bite of herbs-roasted salmon with his fork and holding it out for Harry.

Harry leans over the table and feeds off it, he leans back while chewing and then makes a face. “Oh, NO! You've poisoned me!” he shouts in a theatrical way, bringing his hands to his throat.

Draco rolls his eyes, “It's tasty, then... you could just say that, you know...”

Harry collects himself, smiles and says “It actually is. If Hermione walked in and found left-overs, she would never guess _you_ made it!”

There's a moment of awkward silence. Since the beginning of Draco's house arrest, two years ago, life has changed a lot for Harry as much as it has for Draco.

Harry broke up with Ginny, who did not support his choice regarding the former Death Eater. She could not bring herself to visit him as a consequence and they slowly grew apart.

Ron was always disapproving but would never voice his opinion just out of loyalty to Harry. Furthermore, he got engaged to Hermione and she has been the only supporter Harry has among his close friends since the house-arrest arrangement started. This is what ultimately swayed Ron in supporting Harry.

Little by little his acquaintances drifted away from Harry, as they were not sure he could be successful in his task of reforming a former Death Eather. He felt sad at times but he knew, the moment he would present his case in a few weeks, that everybody would come around given Draco's amazing results.

Still, it was weird to discuss the fact that the few people who remained in his life were still awkward in Draco's presence and viceversa.

“Earth to Potter... Hello??” Draco says clicking his fingers in front of Harry's face to snap him out of his thoughts.

“I'm sorry... I know I tend to have my moments of, uh... thoughtfulness. What was I saying?” Harry says trying to perk up.

“You were just about to add to your comments on how great of a chef I am. And about the fact that I've learnt to cook without the aid of magic just like any Mud—ggle would.” Draco catches himself just in time. Old habits die hard. But he's making progress, or so Harry says.

He has left the house only for the Wizengamot check-in's on their situation. How would _he_ know how he's doing? He is basically living like a Muggle, with no access to the outside world. His only source of information is Harry or the Aurors and they stand on very different points of view on what has been going on since his sentencing.

While thinking about this, Draco misses most of Harry's complimenting. Harry isn't very good at spotting Draco's 'moments of thoughtfulness' when making an effort to perk him up at the same time so he hasn't realised Draco wasn't even listening.

“...and you would definitely get a 3-stars review from Michelin.” concludes Harry with a wide smile.

“Who's Michelin?”

“It's just a high-end guide for restaurants that Muggles have. You used to like high-end places before--” Harry lets the sentence drop there. It's difficult to dodge the fact that Draco had been part of a rich influential pure-blood family before Voldemort's second rise in power. At times when this would come up, it would often bring a dark cloud over their conversations.

Draco has indeed made huge progress in two years but it isn't enough time to judge whether he will be able to stand on his own feet. He still has moments were his first instinct is to fight Harry or his new Muggle life. Harry knows the process is much longer than what they've accomplished so far and he secretly fears that the Wizengamot will take it all away from him because that would cause Draco to spiral again. But Harry will not allow this to happen.

Draco reaches across the table and squeezes Harry's hand, “Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it.”

_Yes, that's definitely the only reason why I want him to stay_ , Harry thinks willing the fluttering in his stomach to go away. He replies with a shy smile and a squeeze.

“But I won't do the dishes. Not even our house-elves at Malfoy Manor would do this kind of labour without magic! It's too demeaning.” Draco says pointedly.

Resigned to be having this conversation for the umpteenth time, Harry sighs, stands up and starts collecting empty dishes and cutlery from the table.

“I'm going to have to repeat myself again, then. It isn't about making you feel 'less than', it's about teaching you how your life as a wizard makes you privileged but not superior. When magic is taken away from you, you learn that Muggles have their own ways of conducting life and this doesn't mean they're useless. Just different.” Harry concludes while starting to do the washing-up without his wand, to prove his point.

He's used to giving his back to Draco now. At the beginning of his house-arrest Harry had been very cautious, but he now knows up to what point he can trust Draco.

This is why Harry jumps when he feels Draco's face very close to his, while the man is standing behind him, peering from his shoulder.

Draco immediately retreats, while Harry spins and asks “What were you going to do?” while reaching for his wand in his pocket.

“Nothing... I was just trying to watch and learn what you were doing” Draco responds defensively retreating.

“I'm sorry for reacting that way. I appreciate the effort. Please make some kind of warning noise in the future... You can't be all stealthy on me like this. Shuffle your chair when you get up, for example. I know you were educated differently. But this is all about re-education, isn't it?” Harry explains trying to show that what he says is totally reasonable and strictly connected to the task at hand, not at all with the fact that he's been trying to avoid reading the signs that have been presenting to him in the past few weeks.

Draco has grown warmer. It's more than cooperation. A great deal different than his initial loathing or consequent distrust. Harry appreciates Draco's progress for real, but he's starting to perceive something more personal coming from his 'house-mate'.

“Fine. I can watch from here” says Draco standing five feet away from the sink, to Harry's right.

  
  


Five minutes later, when the washing-up is done, they're still completely silent.

“Right, so... it isn't that bad, you see?” Harry says with a perky voice again. “Maybe tomorrow you can try it yourself?”

“We'll see about that...” provokes Draco.

Harry knows Draco is trying to wind him up. This is going to be his excuse for sulking all night and cursing the moment he made the choice to put his past... well, in the past, and try to make a change.

Harry's guess is that Draco feels guilty about his treatment of favour compared to all the other Death Eaters, including his father. Draco's mother had disappeared during the Battle (Draco's guess) after they were separated when trying to flee the scene of the Dark Lord's demise.

In some rare moments of openness, Draco has confided in Harry that he still misses her, even if she has abandoned him and his Father to their doomed fates. That's how Harry knows Draco is hurting in a way that trauma survivors are. That's how he knows better than to punish him or respond to his provocations.

“I think I'm going to have a shower and head to bed. I'm up early tomorrow morning to go to Aurors' Headquarters. Better have a fresh mind...” says ignoring completely Draco's smug face. “...but feel free to stay up and read one of the books Hermione sent with her latest owl. I think they're about Muggle Nazi history and they're supposed to help you learn about the fact that, wizard or Muggle, we're all human and end up making the same mistakes.”

With that, Harry walks past Draco towards the doorway and leaves the kitchen. He goes up the stairs to do just what he said, while Draco is left standing in the kitchen alone feeling like an idiot.

_Fine_ , Draco thinks slightly less annoyed, _if he's not having it this way, than I'm just going to find another way to make him understand._

He goes into the study and picks up the pile of books sent by Granger. There's three of them and their covers are all black and white with some flashy red. The titles read “Mein Kampf”, “Diary of Anne Frank” and “World War 2: How did we end up here?”.

_I'm definitely not reading a book which narrates war_ , Draco thinks. He's trying to avoid inner turmoil, not go through it again, so he puts down the last of the three titles he has just read. _I'm definitely not reading about how difficult it must have been for a poor girl to live through it._ He cannot and will not relate to that so he puts down the second book. He remains with one book in his hands, which is supposed to tell the story of the bloke who lost the war, from the time before he lost it. This is something Draco can relate to, even if he won't ever admit it aloud. So he sits down on the sofa and starts reading.

  
  


After an hour or so, Draco realises he's squinting to see the lines on the book. It's dusk and he wishes he could just light the fire and get cosy next to it. But, oh no, he needs to actually get up and turn the freaking lights on with a switch. _I hate electricity_ , he thinks, while going back to the sofa. He grabs the warm cover which fell on the floor when he got up, and crawls under it with his book.

He's quite engrossed in it so he takes a few seconds to realise that Harry's peering from his shoulder and that their cheeks are few inches away.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Draco jumps in surprise blushing and Harry sniggers. Ignoring the provocation, Draco recomposes himself and demands “What was that for?”

Calmly, Harry responds “Well, it was just to show you how unpleasant it might be when people sneak up on you...”

Draco is quite annoyed. Mostly at himself for having let his guard down, but partly at Harry because he doesn't understand what he does to him when he's so close.

“Whatever... it's too late for one of your lessons now. I'll pass.” Draco says covering himself properly again. “Aren't you supposed to be having your beauty sleep? Why are you up?” Draco asks distractedly, pretending to be more interested in the book open on his legs than on having a conversation with Harry.

“I needed to go to the toilet and I noticed the light was on downstairs and I wanted to check what was going on.” Then he adds in a mock-cheerful way, “Pleased to find you so interested in Hitler and his evil ways...”

“Well, you know... you said I need to learn how we're all humans and make mistakes so I thought best to start from the losing side of their war. Given I know all about it...” Draco responds in a harsh tone, now showing his annoyance.

“So you did listen to what I said! I'm not just babbling away all the time...” Harry attempts at a joke but Draco shrugs it off.

Harry isn't ready to give up just yet. Draco has given him rope unintentionally and he's going to pull all the way. So he sits down next to Draco and dims the light with a flick of his wand.

“I can't read like this, my eyes will hurt.” Draco protests.

“You don't need to worry about your eyes. I'd like you to stop reading for a moment and expand on what you said” Harry tries to use his most encouraging tone.

“What did I say?” Draco retreats.

“Well, about knowing what it's like to be on the losing side of a war... When did you realise you were on the losing side?” Harry prompts him.

Draco's bitter admission comes after a few moments. “I guess I never had faith in the fact that we'd win...”

“But you went along with it anyway... because you did not see any way out, you said during interrogations. So why did you lie to the Snatchers about me?”

“My life was like hell, then... I heard you had found a way to defeat the Dark Lord...” Draco's voice lowers as he speaks, “and I guess I wanted to... give you a chance to carry on with your task. I wanted to see how it went and if that could be my way out.”

“Why is it that you never said this during interrogations? It would have helped you a lot with your case” Harry says gently.

Draco looks at him straight in his green eyes with a pained expression “Nobody would have believed me... I didn't see the point.”

“ _I_ would have believed you. I _do_ believe you. Your actions bought us time. They could have called Voldemort straight away but instead they had to wait to make sure not to anger him. And that gave me time to find my opportunity to escape!” Harry explains heatedly, “ _You_ made the difference in that situation. You did something good!” he reaches for Draco's hand but mid-way he changes his mind and puts his arm around Draco's shoulder in a sign of encouragement.

Draco feels like Harry's face is too close now. Harry's touch is too warm on his shoulders. He's trying to look away from those honest green eyes, but he's finding it difficult. So he decides to run from his emotions and to stand up. If anything, it has to happen on his own terms when he isn't feeling weak and when he has all his wits about him.

“Right... if you say so. I'm going to bed now. Good night” Draco says stiffly and walks away quickly.

Harry is left to mull over the thought that he was making progress with the blonde on a psychological level, but then something went wrong and he would very much like to smash his head on the wall for it. But that would not accomplish anything except a massive headache. So he gets up, walks to the staircase, flicks the light off and heads for his bedroom using his wand for light.

Harry isn't sure why every time he gets close enough to make Draco open up a bit, he mucks it up. That has been happening all the more frequently in the recent attempts he has made. He cannot wrap his head around it and he drifts off to sleep while thinking about the warm feeling of closeness he felt when hugging Draco's shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the jump foward in time from the Prologue? Any feedback on the storyline is appreciated. :)


	3. Chapter 2 – Life is a habit

Draco is trying to fall asleep but he keeps replaying in his mind what just happened. Harry's arm was warm on his back. He would have liked to just lean on Harry's shoulder and give into a hug.

Draco has been well aware of his developing feelings for the Boy Who Lived for a while now. At the beginning he wouldn't admit them but his mind would slowly bring him to day-dreaming about something more than just companionship and so he has come to accept them.

There's a possibility that he's going mental from trying to live like a Muggle. He made the choice to actually give it a try after a couple of months of relentless efforts on Harry's part at the beginning of his house-arrest. He noticed how Harry was actually interested in making him healthy again, both physically and mentally.

Then Harry's care turned to friendship over time as they both became accustomed to living with each other. They learnt each other's emotional boundaries and how to avoid pushing each other's buttons. Harry tried to push Draco's limits at times, but Draco noticed that each time the reason was to make him open up about his past and his feelings and to make him accept his life as well as his path to finding a new place in the world as wizard again.

Draco hates to depend so much on another person but on the other hand, he's finding that living without so much scheming is much less exhausting. Also, honesty has been repaying him. In the past few hearings which Harry and Draco attended at the Wizengamot Draco was questioned by the High Court, and Harry strongly felt that they're convincing the assembly to let him continue with his house-arrest longer than two years, which was the initial agreement. Harry is positive that Draco will not be brought to Azkaban to serve the rest of his life-long sentence.

Draco is thankful to Harry for showing him that he can be better than before. Even though living without magic isn't easy and he has the occasional unwanted outbursts. But he's improving at managing them.

Harry's plan to turn the sentence into life-long house-arrest seems feasible now. The only thing which would make life bearable this way would be having a wand again. But Draco knows he isn't trusted by the Wizengamot yet. Harry's help is vital to improve quickly enough so that the Ministry will see the good in him and let him live like a wizard again.

In the meantime, Draco is mostly resigned to living like a Muggle. He gets a little personal payback out of it by annoying Harry at times, pretending he doesn't know how to do the washing-up, for example, so that he won't actually have to do menial chores.

On the other side, those are golden opportunities to be close to Harry pretending he's watching and learning. He can smell Harry's soap scent, which reminds him of his first shower in a real bathroom in this house... He can feel Harry's body warmth and it's endearing.

Draco feels safe when Harry is around.

But Harry has been catching up to him recently. Harry has noticed something is going on and he has started teasing Draco furtively about it. Sometimes he does it in such a sweet way, like tonight, that Draco finds it hard to hide his feelings and he needs to escape. Even if that means making Harry think he's taking steps back in his recovery.

He isn't ready to put it out there yet. Subtlety has always been one of the distinctive traits of a Slytherin but he feels like he is out of practice at the moment. He doesn't mind it that much because his life cannot include deception in order to prove he has changed, and he doesn't feel so weak or helpless any more without it.

Draco decides that he's finally calm enough to go to sleep. He too wants to be up early and be ready for the news Harry will bring back from Auror's Headquarters tomorrow morning.

  
  


~*~

  
  


The old wooden clock on the wall chimes 11 o'clock and then there's the usual bustling which comes from using the Floo network.

Draco feels tense. He's been pacing up and down the living room for an hour now. He was expecting Harry to come back sooner that this.

“Guess what?” Harry asks coming out of his fireplace. He gives Draco a huge, proud smile. “I'm officially an Auror now! The elders confirmed that my training can be considered done since I'm doing such a good job with you!” he explains with a smirk.

“That's great!” Draco says going over to bro-hug him. “How do you want to celebrate? I could make herbs-crusted salmon again since you liked it so much last night...”

“Well, actually...” Harry says tentatively, “I wanted to go out and celebrate with some friends at the Hog's Head, for old time's sake...”

Given the fact that he isn't allowed out of the house, Draco's expression darkens “I see...”

“...and I thought maybe you would like to come too...”

Draco's face lights up again “Am I allowed to go out??”

“Yeah... I cleared it at the office. I have the authority to take you out on my own now, being officially an Auror and all!” Harry gives Draco a friendly punch on the shoulder. “We're going out at 5pm. But before then, we need to go to the Wizengamot for the appeal hearing.”

“I know, I'm ready” Draco responds trying to hide the fact that he's quite tense about it.

“Good, let's go then” Harry says getting into the fireplace first.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Scrimgeour enters the court a while after Draco and Harry have been seated into two wooden chairs. _Quite different from the ones with shackles from a couple of years ago_ , Draco reflects. _Maybe they have indeed noticed my progress._

“Stand up, Mr Malfoy” orders one of the High Court members.

Draco stands up and resists the urge to fidget with the hem of his cuffs. He's wearing a neat white shirt and black trousers. His hair is parted in the middle and combed to the sides instead of back, since he's stopped using Sleekeazy potions. He has made himself presentable without trying to show off his class, quite the difference from what he used to do as a teenager. He wants to show the Wizengamot that he's grown into a new trustworthy man.

“We have considered the progress you have made in the past two years and agreed to Mr Potter's appeal. You are no longer sentenced to life in Azkaban and your house-arrest stands. You may present a request to reduce the terms of your house-arrest in two year's time, if Mr Potter will be able to vouch for you at that time and if you will have shown that you are able to live peacefully within our society” the High Court member stops for a moment to let the verdict sink in.

“You are dismissed.”

Harry stands up and voices thanks to the assembly and to the Minister, then he pats a shocked Draco on the shoulder as congratulations. Draco snaps out of his bewilderment at Harry's touch and follows him out of the room, into the corridor, then into the lift and up to the Ministry Hall and into one of the fireplaces connected to the Floo network.

A moment later they are back at home.

“I guess we'll have more than one reason to celebrate later at the Hog's Head, then!” Harry says cheerfully.

Draco hugs him without thinking, just following his instincts. His chin rests on Harry's shoulder and his arms wrap Harry's waist tightly.

The hug lasts a few moments longer than Harry expects and he realises how tense Draco had been while waiting for new judgement.

Draco finally releases the hug and leans on the fireplace lost in his thoughts for a moment.

“Thank you” Draco says trying to keep his voice steady and to hide the twirl of emotions inside him.

“I'm glad about their decision too. You don't need to thank me. You've accomplished so much in the past two years. You should take credit for this” Harry says convincingly.

“No, seriously, thank you” Draco repeats more confidently this time, locking eyes with Harry. “If it weren't for your faith in me, this would _never_ have happened. So you should also take some of the credit.” His tone is affectionate.

“OK. Now that we've established we're both great, how about some lunch? We need to be prepared to get hammered tonight!” Harry jokes excitedly and walks to the kitchen, Draco in tow.

They prepare some sandwiches and a salad to eat. They chat about how to break Harry's news to Ron and Hermione tonight. Draco wants Harry to prank his friends saying they kicked him out of Auror's training because he wants to continue helping with his sentence. But Harry is way too excited to be able to hide his happiness.

Draco does the washing-up while Harry goes to the study to write a letter to Hagrid and ask him to join them at the Hog's Head. He pretends he doesn't notice Draco acting as a perfect housekeeper but he is secretly happy that many aspects of their living arrangement are fitting like pieces of a puzzle.

Around 4pm they're ready to go out so they walk to a nearby back alley and Disapparate.

A moment later they are in Hogsmeade. Draco hasn't been there for the longest time so he isn't surprised when he sees how different it has become. But it still feels familiar somehow.

As they walk down the main street he notices that many shops are open. The Three Broomsticks still looks warm and welcoming. Madam Malkin's still looks posh. Honeydukes is still bright and shiny. Nothing compares to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, though. Harry goes into the shop following Harry and they take their cloaks off.

In a fraction of a second everything stills. George, his clerk and a couple of customers take notice of Draco immediately and the air becomes dense.

Harry knew something like this was going to happen during their night out and he though it best to let it play out in a place where he could have some back-up from George in case something happened.

Followed closely by Draco, Harry makes his way to the back, where George was showing a customer a set of Chinese dragon fireworks.

“Hello George!” Harry says brightly, trying to force cheerfulness back into the shop. “May we have a word with you in private?”

“Sure” George responds looking from Draco to Harry and back to Draco and finally to his clerk. “Christine, would you mind coming over and showing our carnival fireworks to Mr Bulls, here, please?” Then he says to Harry and Draco “Follow me.”

The three of them walk to the back of the shop, where there's a staff area. “Would you like some tea?” George offers.

“No, thanks. We've just popped in on our way to the Hog's Head. We're celebrating tonight and I'd like you to join us. Hagrid, Ron and Hermione will be there too.”

“And whatcha celebrating?” George asks politely.

“I'm officially an Auror as of this morning, mate! So bring your ledger out, I wanna see if your books are all in order” Harry jokes.

“Hey, that's great!” George gives Harry a hard smack on the back. “Sure I'll come by later, after I close up shop!”

“Great! We'll get going now. See you later!”

Harry and Draco make their way out of the shop while putting on their cloaks.

They walk silently for a moment, side to side, then Harry breaks the silence. “Well, that went well. Nobody shot a hex at us!” he says with a side smile, trying to reassure Draco who had been quiet the whole time.

“I guess...” Draco replies still feeling tense.

  
  


~*~

  
  


There are lots of stains in the shape of a circle on the wooden table; they might be on the fourth or fifth round of drinks, except for Hermione who's their sober-Apparator for tonight. Neville, George and Hagrid have already left.

When Neville and Luna arrived, she sat next to Draco and started chatting him up with one of her extravagant theories. That really helped making the night begin smoothly with a laugh.

And they are still laughing and chatting loudly now thanks to the alcohol. Midnight is approaching and Hermione starts shuffling on her chair showing she's eager to go back home. And since she's in charge of Apparating everybody safely at their respective places, she'll be the last one to leave.

Luna realises her friend is tired so she tugs Harry's elbow to catch his attention. “I think Hermione wants to put the Moon frogs to bed.”

At the same time Hermione stands up and taps Ron's shoulder to make him realise it's time to go.

Everybody starts saying their good-byes, then Hermione grabs Harry and Draco. While she takes Harry's hand and Draco's elbow, Draco slides his hand in hers. Hermione thinks the alcohol is really doing the trick to make an uptight Slytherin loosen up.

They vanish with a pop from the Hog's Head to Apparate in the same alley where the two men left in the afternoon. She then walks them to their front door. An intoxicated Harry whips out his wand and unlocks the door, and he's finding it hard to stand up on his own. The Apparition is making him nauseous too.

Hermione kisses both Harry and Draco on the cheek and she walks away to the Apparition spot.

Harry and Draco walk into the house staggering. They hold on to each other and struggle up the stairs together. Harry suddenly rushes up and gets into the bathroom. Draco climbs the final steps slowly, propping himself up on the wall. He hears throwing-up sounds. Harry is being sick.

Draco goes into the bathroom to find Harry sitting on the floor with his face in the toilet. Draco sits next to Harry and holds his head up, while gently stroking his back.

When Harry's done throwing up, Draco helps him up and to the sink. He takes Harry's glasses off and washes his face, then grabs a towel to dry it. Then, holding Harry by the waist, Draco walks into his friend's bedroom to help him get into bed.

Harry falls on his bed face first.

Draco takes care of his shoes and cloak, then he makes Harry turn to face him and unbuttons his shirt struggling to get it off.

Draco isn't quite sure how he's able to undo all the buttons, he might be sobering up just out of concentration. He's putting a lot of effort into keeping his feelings in check while tending to a hammered Harry. The thought of taking his friend's shirt off is conjuring naughty ideas.

“C'mon Harry... a little help here. I can't take your shirt and your trousers off if you don't cooperate...” Draco complains out loud even if he isn't expecting any response from Harry.

But Harry actually responds by sitting up and shrugging his shirt off. He then tries to unbutton his trousers but his fingers are not working properly.

“Here, let me do it” Draco offers.

Just as he's moving away to give Harry privacy and let him finish undressing, Harry grabs Draco's hand and pulls him down. Draco loses his balance and falls on the foot of the bed, across Harry's legs and his hand lands on Harry's crotch.

_Shit! He's hard._ Draco panics moving his hand away. He has been trying not to think about his own cock hardening in the process of undressing the object of his desire.

“Lay next to me” Harry demands in a slurry voice and shuffles to the other side of the bed to free his legs from under Draco. It seems Harry hasn't noticed Draco accidentally felt him up.

Draco crawls on the bed and lays uncomfortably next to Harry, over the bed covers.

Harry searches for Draco's hand next to him and holds it tight making Draco unable to breathe for way too many seconds. At some point Harry's grip relaxes—he's falling asleep.

Draco waits a few minutes longer before getting up from the bed, careful not to wake him up. With one last look at the dark-haired boy, he walks out of the bedroom silently.

He then gets into his own room, takes off his clothes and puts on his pyjamas. But he is still aroused. There's no way he's going to fall asleep unless he finds his release. So he goes into the bathroom to take a shower and have wank.

He thinks of touching Harry's cock and he shivers in his release.

He can go to bed at last.

Thinking back about the day, he remembers he woke up feeling nervous about his sentencing. It seems like a week has passed already since then. But it has only been a few hours and his biggest worry now is whether Harry will remember asking him to 'lay down' next to him for the night.


	4. Chapter 3 – Breaking the habit

The next morning Harry wakes up with a massive headache. He has some hang-over potions in his storage so he forces himself to get up and he walks downstairs to drink it. Of course, he doesn't realise he's very sweaty and only wearing his underwear.

He's startled to find Draco sipping coffee in the kitchen and he doesn't understand the look of utter disbelief his house-mate gives him for a moment.

Harry opens various cupboards until he finds his hang-over cure and he downs it in a gulp. He turns around, eyes closed, leaning onto the kitchen counter. The potion takes effect in a minute and he's sober again.

“Good morning” he says with a raspy voice.

“...morning...” Draco replies with his gaze fixed into his mug.

Harry's legs and stomach feel cold so he looks down and at last he realises he's almost naked. He quickly decides it's best to hide his embarrassment by acting nonchalantly. “I had a great time last night, I hope you did too.”

“Yeah, I did” Draco replies in a flat tone, still looking at his mug as if it's the most interesting thing in the whole wide world.

“Is there any coffee for me too?” continues Harry.

“Yes, there's a pot over there” Draco points to his left, where Harry is standing.

Harry turns around and finds a hot coffee pot on the counter.

Taking advantage of the moment when Harry's busy pouring himself some coffee, Draco glances over. The first thing to catch his eyes is Harry's arse, then he looks up and checks out Harry's back and shoulders. _Last night I didn't imagine things. He's definitely fit in daylight too._ Draco can't stop the thought from forming in his head, so he snaps his gaze back into his mug, which is now empty.

Draco decides it's best to run away now before giving himself another hard-on. So he mutters something about reading a book and gets out of the kitchen, leaving Harry to sit alone at the table.

_That was close!_ Draco swears silently while sitting on the couch and grabbing the book he started the other day. He opens the book where he left a bookmark, which is a rectangular piece of paper used by Muggles in place of a spell. He tries to focus on reading but his ears are alert to any sound Harry makes in the kitchen and his mind is stuck on the image of Harry's fit body.

Draco becomes tense again when he hears Harry approaching. His house-mate sits down on the couch next to him, holding his mug of hot coffee.

“What's up with you this morning?” Harry asks bluntly.

“Nothing” Draco is still trying to brush this whole thing off.

“Are you sure? Have I done something wrong last night? Did I say something bad about you?” Harry asks, now worried.

“No!!” Draco replies in a shrill voice.

“So why won't you even look at me?” Harry insists.

Draco doesn't want to reply to that so he keeps pretending that he's reading.

“I don't remember much of last night... Did something happen on our way back here?” Harry is not letting this go.

“No...” Draco replies cautiously.

“Did Hermione Apparate us here as promised?” Harry's thinking maybe he tried to Apparate them and got them splinched and Draco had to fix them with his wand, breaking one of the most fundamental rules of his house-arrest. So perhaps he's giving him the silent treatment as punishment.

“Yeah she did” Draco confirms in a flat tone.

Harry reflects for a moment and then asks apologetically “Did I throw up on you?”

“No, don't worry, you managed to get to the toilet for that.” A hint of warmth comes back into Draco's voice.

“So what's up?” Harry places his index finger on Draco's chin and makes him turn his face to look at him.

Draco is still looking down and his cheeks and neck are bright red now. So Harry finally understands Draco is embarrassed about something.

“Did YOU do something?” Harry asks with wide eyes.

“No way, mate!” Draco slaps Harry's finger off his face.

“OK, go on, then. Tell me! What's wrong?” Harry is starting to become annoyed. It's too much prodding.

“I said nothing's wrong! Stop. Asking.” Now Draco is annoyed too. This is about to unfold and not on his own terms.

“Yeah, there's clearly no reason why you're bright red and afraid of looking at me in the eye!” Harry accuses him.

“I am NOT afraid of looking at you!” Draco says indignantly and looking at Harry at last.

Harry smiles. “I see that now. Sorry.”

“Do you mind getting dressed? It's not proper to walk around half-naked considering you do not live on your own.” Draco tried to divert the attention from the actual reason why he's acting oddly.

“Oh, so that's what's bothering you!” Harry smirks.

Draco can't help but look away and Harry knows he's getting closer to finding out what's gotten into his friend.

“Fine. I'll go get dressed if you find this to be improper _._ ” Harry points up and down to his body before getting up and walking upstairs.

Draco finally exhales and tries to recompose himself.

It seems like Harry's finger left a burning mark on his chin. His previous efforts to avoid having his cock hard again have not paid out. Luckily there's a book covering him so he doesn't think Harry has found out what is actually going on.

  
  


Harry comes back downstairs a few minutes later, and in the meantime Draco has managed to start sulking a bit about his current life situation.

“So. I was thinking about clothes...” Harry starts talking light-heartedly. “...and noticed how you have one good pair of trousers and one good robe and the rest is just joggers I don't use any more. I thought maybe we could go out to a pub every now and then, now, and that's definitely not how you should be dressed if we get into Muggle London for a pint.”

“Where are you going with this?” Draco asks warily.

“I'd like to take you to a shop to buy some new clothes. Mostly Muggle ones. Like mine.” Harry explains.

“Like yours? Hopefully you'll be able to find a shop that sells nicer clothes than that.”

“I'll let that slide given that you seem to agree already. I thought I'd have to beg you, really.” Harry is amused by the look of dislike appearing on Draco's face.

“I'm not one to be begged to do trivial things. I will do them when they are necessary” Draco says pompously.

Harry walks to the front door. “Go on, then. Let's go.” he encourages Draco to follow him.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Taking the bus into Oxford Street felt horrendous to Draco: lots of people crammed up next to each other, some talking into devices which Harry told him are called mobile phones.

Harry and Draco didn't talk much during the ride and now that they got off the bus, Draco finally comments on it, as Harry had been expecting since they got on.

“Well, that was unpleasant.” Draco is disgusted. “Muggles do not understand the need for personal space, do they? And they most certainly do not shower as much as what's considered appropriate.”

Harry laughs. “I thought it would be less worrisome than taking the Tube.”

“And what does a tube do?” Draco is confused.

“No, I mean the underground train system. It's faster but smellier and more crowded than the bus.”

“I'm glad we did not take the Tube then” Draco comments in a worried tone. “Where are we going?”

“That way” Harry points at a shop on the other side of the road, with muscular male mannequins in the window displays.

  
  


Fifteen minutes later Draco finds himself pushed into a fitting room with a pair of jeans and a sweater in his hands.

He knows they're not going to fit as well as a tailor-made robe. But s _ince we've come so far_ , Draco thinks, _I might as well try them on_.

He comes out of the fitting room to complain about the clothes to Harry. “These jeans are so tight there's not enough space for my...” and stops unsure about how to describe the constriction he's feeling around his crotch and bottom. Wizard robes are much more flowy and the trousers he has been wearing so far aren't as tight either.

At the same time, Harry's jaw falls open at the sight of the handsome blond man. The jeans are skinny tight and chisel the shape of Draco's bottom precisely. The sweater looks like a good fit too. Only a couple of seconds pass before Harry catches himself staring, but it's too late already.

“What? I told you I would look stupid in Muggle clothes!” Draco stomps back angrily into the fitting room, misinterpreting Harry's reaction.

Harry feels weird about the way he has reacted to Draco dressed in stylish clothes. He looked like one of those Muggle models on advertisement. Thin neck, broad shoulders, lean arms and legs, round arse. _Maybe living with another man for such a long time and in such a secluded way changed my perspective..._ he reflects.

_Or maybe you have always felt attracted to the blonde since you were eleven years old but you don't want to admit it_ , says another small voice in the back of his head.

Draco stomps out of the fitting room throwing the clothes in Harry's face. “We're getting out of here. Now!” He feels like a fool for even agreeing to this. He knew he would look ridiculous in Muggle trendy clothes and kicks himself in the shins while waiting for Harry outside the shop. He doesn't know which way to go and, besides that, he isn't supposed to run away.

Harry comes out of the shop at last, holding a bag.

“What's that?” Draco asks angrily pointing at it.

“The clothes you tried on. I just bought them for you” Harry says stating the obvious.

“You what? How dare you? Have you not made enough fun of me?” Draco spits at him.

“Calm down! I bought them because you looked handsome in them.” Harry replies defensively. He was just trying to make up for his previous misinterpreted reaction. “I mean it!” He says holding the bag out to Draco.

Draco huffs in response, still not convinced.

“If you do not believe me, let's go into that coffee shop for some tea. You'll go get changed in the toilet and then you'll see how people look at you when you come out.” Harry challenges him.

“Not worth the bother. Let's go back home.” Draco shrugs. He doesn't want to fall into the trap.

Harry notices how uncomfortable Draco really is so he gives in. They walk to an alleyway and Disapparate.

  
  


A moment later they're in the back alley near Harry's house and they walk silently up to his front door. Harry unlocks the door magically without using his wand and they get in.

Draco runs upstairs and locks himself in his room.

Harry puts the bag on the floor in the corridor upstairs and knocks at Draco's bedroom door. “Draco? I'm sorry for pushing you too far. I though it would be fun to do some Muggle shopping with you. Clearly I should have prepared you better for the experience and what to expect. I'm sorry!”

Silence.

“Will you open the door, please?” he pleads.

Still nothing.

“I'll leave you to it, then. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs” Harry sighs.

When Draco hears Harry walking downstairs, he finally relaxes.

He's laying face down on his bed and he's replaying in his head the look of shock on Harry's face in the shop. He felt so ashamed when Harry looked at him.

He read the whole situation wrong. He thought Harry found him ridiculous but his apology seemed sincere. Maybe Harry did not take him out shopping just to have a laugh. Harry was just being a good friend, trying to help him fit in the Muggle world. Buying him clothes so they could go out for a pint because he is allowed to get out of the house now. Why did he waste this opportunity?

He punches himself in the head. _You're acting like a silly teenager, Malfoy, but you're a grown man! Act like it._

Draco stands up and opens his bedroom door to find Harry have a chat with him. He almost trips on the shopping bag on the floor. He thinks maybe his own apology will sound more sincere if he's wearing what Harry bought him. So he walks back into his room and gets changed into his new clothes.

He looks at himself in the mirror and still finds everything too closely fit on his figure. Especially the crotch of the trousers. _How do Muggle even wear this??_

Draco's resolution to patch things up with Harry is stronger than the uneasiness he feels, so he goes downstairs.

“Harry...” Draco's head pops into the living room.

“Draco” his friend's smile is welcoming. “I'm sorry about earlier.”

“I'm sorry too” Draco walks into the room to continue his apology in a low voice. “I thought you were laughing at me and I became angry but I couldn't curse you or leave you behind. I acted like an arse.”

Harry stands up. “Thank you. It's very nice of you to apologise for being an arse but I know you can't help it.”

From Harry's smirk, Draco can tell he's joking. He holds out his hand for Harry to shake, formally implying that they've made up.

“You do look great, you know” Harry says while shaking hands and he makes Draco blush. “How about we play chess now?” moving the board from the coffee table to the couch.

  
  


Half an hour later Draco is crushing Harry at the game.

“Check mate. Aaand that's how you win a chess game! You didn't even see it coming.” Draco says with a grin.

“No, I didn't” Harry admits and continues treading carefully. “Your strategy is very good, as usual. I hope you would put as much thought into how you act around people.”

“I thought we put that past us...” Draco's glee is darkened by Harry's comments. _Here comes another lecture._

“I just mean that you are intelligent enough to consider the consequences of your actions and I do not understand why sometimes you make a choice without considering what could happen next.” Harry explains.

“Perhaps I am aware of the consequences but I make the wrong choice anyway.” Draco feels like starting an argument now.

“Why, then?” Harry remains calm. He really wants to understand.

Draco takes a deep breath and chooses to go down a different road instead. “Maybe the other options are just too much to handle.” He tries to open up instead of fighting Harry.

“Like what?” Harry probes.

“Like the fact that you look at me like you're pleased even though I know I will disappoint you sometime in the future.” Draco stares directly into Harry's eyes challenging him to prove him wrong.

“Why do you think that you're going to let me down?” Harry voice is calm but his eyes betray his worry.

Draco looks away before being honest once more. “Because I'm like that. I can't live up to the expectations people have of me.” It isn't easy but being honest is the only way he'll become closer to Harry and stand a chance.

“Why so?” Harry puts his hand on Draco's to encourage him to continue.

“Look at my Father. Look at what happened with the Dark Lord” Draco says removing his hand from Harry's to scratch his forearm where his Dark Mark is. “Look at Mother” _She left me behind._

Harry wants to console him. “Their expectations of you were awful. And they did not take into account what you wanted.”

Draco speaks in an accusing tone, “You also have expectations which do not take into account what I want.” He's challenging him again, looking into Harry's emerald eyes.

Harry is taken aback. “How do you mean? I though you wanted to go down the path of recovery and reform with me...”

“That isn't it.” Draco stands up from the couch to leave the room.

“Don't walk away from this conversation” Harry pleads. “I've been making you feel uncomfortable for a whole day now. I want to fix that and I need your help to understand how to do it.”

Draco walks away and goes upstairs to his room saying “I'm not ready yet.”

Harry sighs, still sitting on the couch. _Best if I leave him alone for now. It seems like I am pushing him to far. Just because I'm hopeful after yesterday's sentencing, it doesn't mean Draco is too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco's relationship is starting to shift. Please let me know what you think of it? :)


	5. Chapter 4 – Feelings Unfold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last chapter is a bit longer than the others. Hopefully you won't be bored and you'll get to the juicy end. ;)

The following few days Harry goes to work to Aurors' Headquarters early in the morning and he comes back late in the evening, so he and Draco don't have much of a chance to spend some time together.

Draco spends his days mostly reading or cooking some Muggle recipes. He has also started listening to the Muggle radio. He doesn't quite enjoy the music but the voices keep him company.

  
  


Tonight when Draco is ready to go to bed, Harry hasn't come back yet. He feels weird about being alone for a lot of the time recently. He is used to having his house-mate/friend around and he doesn't know what to do with himself.

He's growing bored of reading and cooking and listening to the radio so he decides that he's going to try and go out on his own. After all, if he is trusted enough to go out with Harry and to stay at home alone and behave, he can also be trusted to go out on his own and behave.

The wards around the house have decreased since his new sentence was passed. He felt it when he passed through the threshold when they went to London. So he puts on his new Muggle clothes and simply walks out of the door without encountering any issues.

Strengthened by this small success, he walks confidently around the neighbourhood until he finds a pub. He goes in and sits at the bar on his own, keeping a safe distance from the other patrons. He orders a beer and he looks around while sipping.

There's a group of friends chatting loudly around a corner table. There are people playing with sticks and balls on a table. There are people throwing darts into a target hanging from a wall. There's a couple coming out of the toilet together. They seem a bit flushed and she's tidying up her short dress. It seems like everybody is enjoying themselves.

The bartender taps him on the shoulder and says “That's 3,50£”

Draco swears under his breath. He forgot he doesn't have any Muggle money on him, or at all. If only he had his wand, he could Obliviate the bartender and leave. But he doesn't have his wand because he's a bloody reject of society.

Draco puts on a show of patting his pockets and says in his most charming tone, “I'm very sorry, mate, but I seem to have forgotten my wallet at home tonight.”

The bartender fires up instantly, “You fucking with me?”

“I said I'm sorry. I'll come back tomorrow and pay for this beer, alright?” Draco doesn't understand why the man is so on edge for just a beer.

“Are you looking for trouble on purpose or are you just dense?” The bartender provokes him.

From the corner of his eye, Draco sees a hand sliding some paper money on the bar. “Here you go. All settled” a female voice speaks.

The two men both turn to look at the woman who has just paid for Draco's beer.

“Thank you” Draco says politely while the bartender yells at him “Get the fuck out of my pub!”

Draco is not trying to get into trouble the first time he goes out on his own, so he swallows his pride and walks out of the door, followed shortly after by the woman.

“I'm Hannah, by the way” she calls at his back to make him turn around and face her. “And you're most welcome. Are you new to the neighbourhood?”

“I am. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.” Draco shows off his aristocratic manners. For a moment he thinks of walking away but then he changes his mind and lingers. “If you would be so kind as to give me your contact information, I'll pay you back tomorrow.”

“The way you speak... isn't from around here. You're funny!” Hannah giggles. “I thought it was just an act with Mickey to get out of paying for your beer but now I'm thinking this is actually the way you are.” Hannah says. She's intrigued and taps her mouth with the tip of her finger, scrutinising the blonde.

“I can assure you that my manners are of the highest standards.” Draco raises his chin as to prove that his superior decorum isn't an act.

“So it seems. I wonder if I could convince you to show me more of your manners privately.” Hannah says suggestively.

“How do you mean?” Draco raises a brow and pretends not to pick up on her flirting.

“Well, I did you a favour, how about you do one for me? I find you very attractive.” Hannah brings her hand on his chest and she cocks her head. “Would you like to walk me home?”

Draco doesn't understand why she is being so forward with him considering they just met a minute ago. Also he wishes he could just say that he isn't interested in women and that he'd much rather pay her back tomorrow.

Draco shuffles on his feet while Hannah is waiting for an answer expectantly. The awkwardness is broken when someone shouts his name from a few yards away. He turns around to see Harry running towards them.

“Is that a friend of yours, _Draco_? You have an unusual name too...” Hannah grins grabbing his wrist.

“Yes, he's a friend of mine.” Draco replies stiffly. He feels a scratch on his wrist while freeing his arm from her. _There's something up with this woman_ , he thinks.

Harry slows his run and stops next to him. Draco doesn't waste any time to put a stop to the situation and says in his aristocratic voice, “Very convenient to meet you here, Harry. You see, I forgot my wallet at home and Hannah paid for my beer. Would you please pay her back from me?”

Harry is staring at them in disbelief. Draco pats him on the shoulder and gives him an eloquent look.

“Yeah, uhm... alright. How much was it?” Harry says grabbing his wallet from his jeans.

“3.50£” Hannah says reluctantly. “But I told your friend he could repay me in a different way,” she shoots a lewd look at the blonde.

Harry is shocked at the woman's bluntness and fumbles to grab some change. “Here” Harry passes the money to Hannah quickly.

Draco says flatly “Thank you for your courtesy”.

Hannah stares at the two men for a moment. Harry blurts out a good-bye and grabs Draco by the arm to drag him away.

When they reach a safe distance where they can talk without being overheard, Harry questions Draco. “What the fuck where you doing?”

“I thought I could go out for a pint, like you said a few days ago. Only I didn't think I have no money on me. And that almost got me in trouble.” Draco relates calmly what happened with the bartender. He's successfully feigning detachment.

“And how are you so calm about all this?” Harry's voice sounds angry but he really is just worried. “Didn't you think I'd notice the wards being disrupted? We just spoke recently about thinking actions through!” Truth is, he thought Draco had escaped and he was panicking, going through possible reasons and excuses to make to buy time while he tried to find him. He was so relieved a couple of minutes ago when he spotted the blond on the pavement outside the pub.

“Nothing happened. Stop worrying.” Draco is starting to drag his feet to slow down from the frantic pace Harry is keeping up.

They're the only people out in the street and they walk silently for a couple of minutes and Draco falls behind. Harry asks him to keep up to no avail so he turns around, grabs Draco's arm and drags him under the light of a street lamp. “Look at me in the eyes” Harry commands standing one feet away from the other man.

Draco's pupil are dilated. Harry moves the tip of his wand from right to left to see whether Draco manages to follow it with his eyes. He doesn't. The blonde seems unable to focus. Harry is worried that his friend was somehow drugged. “Let's go. Our house is just a few yards away” he says softly while grabbing Draco by the waist to support him. Draco leans in and lets Harry carry some on his own weight.

He feels light-headed. He isn't sure this is because of the pint of ale he had or if it's just close proximity with Harry and his scent.

The two men reach the house a few minutes later but Draco is already disconnected from the situation so he doesn't hear Harry's questions at first.

“Draco” Harry says shaking him. Having managed to make his friend focus, he repeats “Can you walk upstairs on your own?”

Draco realises they are now standing in the living room of Harry's house. “Of course I can, I'm not useless.” Draco's response comes out so slurry that Harry decides to help him up the stairs, then into the blonde's bedroom and onto his bed.

Draco sits on his bed then gives in to the sensation of being powerless and sinks into the covers, curling up like a cat.

“I'll just be a moment. I'm going downstairs to grab something for you to drink” Harry announces hoping to be paid attention to.

Draco doesn't notice his friend is worried. He is not fully aware of himself at this stage but he does realise that he's alone for a bit. He isn't sure how long Harry takes before stepping into the room again. It seems like an eternity but also a few seconds, at the same time.

Harry holds out a glass full of a clear-coloured potion. “Drink this up, you'll feel better in the morning.” Draco sits on his bed for a moment, gulps down the potion and lies down again.

“Harry...” Draco whispers while trying to go to sleep. Harry strokes his arm and the blonde sighs at the touch. “I think I care about you a lot” he mumbles.

Harry smiles still caressing his arm. “I care about you too.”

Draco mewls softly and finally goes to sleep. Harry sits there for a few more minutes.

It's very likely that someone at the pub spiked Draco's drink. He wonders whether the woman is involved somehow or if it was just a coincidence that she paid for the beer. He doesn't understand why something like this would happen to Draco. Nobody had seen him before in the neighbourhood, he made sure of that. And nobody could know that Draco would decide to go out on his own tonight of all nights. He dismisses the thought that someone is watching them, because he has taken precautions against it since the first day of house-arrest.

Maybe what makes him upset the most isn't the fact that Draco went out on his own without permission, money, wand or common sense. Maybe he is angry with himself for not being there for Draco when he was in trouble. He says to himself that he cares about Draco as a friend, that's why he was so panicked and then cross and then worried.

Harry decides he'll spend the night in Draco's bed in the end. To care for him. _As friends do_ , he tells himself.

  
  


Draco wakes up the next morning with a headache. The next thing he realises is that Harry is sleeping on his side next to him and that Harry's arm is resting on his own stomach, as if Harry was hugging him in his sleep.

Draco isn't sure how he's supposed to feel. On the one side, he feels the warmth radiating off Harry's body next to him and he enjoys it. On the other side, he feels uneasy because they're unintentionally overstepping a line Draco isn't sure he wants to cross yet if it may ever be possible.

As a result of his conflicting thoughts, Draco stirs on the bed and that wakes Harry up.

“Morning. How are you feeling?” Harry retracts his arm to stretch. He smiles sideways to Draco.

“I have a headache” states Draco flatly.

“It's a side effect of the potion I gave you last night. I have some pain reliever downstairs, if you want” offers Harry.

“Yeah, thanks—Hold on a moment.” Draco is trying to think more clearly and sits up. “What do you mean 'the potion you gave me last night'?”

“Don't you remember what happened last night?” Harry studies him. He doesn't want to relate the happenings of the previous night. He doesn't want to get into an argument over the failed attempt at escaping. Because that's what he has to treat it like, even if he knows Draco just wanted some freedom for one night. Covering it up is not going to be easy if the news reaches the Prime Minister's ear.

While Harry is lost in his thoughts, Draco gets up from the bed and his head spins for a moment. He takes a deep breath and starts pacing.“I went to the pub down the road. I had no money.” Draco relates the events. “Some Muggle woman paid for me so I avoided getting into a fight with the bartender. Then you arrived and paid her back. We got home and we fell asleep.”

“Yes, but not quite. I don't know why that woman was coming on to you so hard and... I think someone drugged your beer. I'm sorry” Harry says lowering his eyes. He should have been there for Draco, instead of giving him space.

Draco is shocked and he's not sure how to handle the information. His mind is still a bit foggy and he cannot stop pacing.

Harry asks worried, “Are you sure you are alright? I can take the day off if you want me to stay at home with you. I'll keep you company. We haven't seen much of each other recently...”

Draco comes to a halt. “No, you should go to work. I'll be alright.” Then he realises he's still wearing his Muggle clothes and finds his easy escape. “I'm going to have a shower” he adds walking out of room.

“I'll bring that pain-reliever potion for you in the meantime.” Harry offers raising his voice to make himself heard. He gets up and goes to the kitchen to find the vial. After a bit of fumbling in the cabinets and cupboard drawers he finally finds it and brings it upstairs.

Harry has just put the vial on Draco's bedside table, when he turns around and sees a partly naked Draco standing on the doorway. The blonde is only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair is wet and dripping. Draco's tired expression still shows the effects of last night's events.

Harry is fazed out for a moment and he doesn't realise that he's walking towards Draco until his lips meet the other man's and they're kissing.

Harry parts his mouth from Draco's to take a breath and think about the consequences of the situation. Was he the one who said you should always think clearly before making a decision? But Harry doesn't have time to keep reasoning because Draco's hand holds his neck to close the short distance between their faces and they're kissing again.

Harry takes a short step forward and their bodies are now touching. Harry feels Draco's dick stiffening under the towel and he likes the idea. So he decides this is the moment to take a risk.

Harry's mouth moves from Draco's lips to his jaw and then to his neck and earlobe, tasting his skin. Draco's erection is quite hard now and Harry smiles. His hands are now stroking Draco's back while he's licking his neck. Draco lets out a moan.

“Do I take that as your go-ahead?” Harry whispers into Draco's ear softly, making the blonde shiver.

“Yes” Draco says with anticipation and moves both his hands to Harry's lower back.

“I think I'd like to take my clothes off now, if that's OK with you. I feel kind of weird to be the only one who's dressed.” Harry whispers to explain why he going to taking a step back momentarily.

Draco's eyes are now full with lust. The confusion clouding his head is gone. He doesn't want to wait before going further or he'll find a reason to dissuade himself from going through with it. So he tears open Harry's trousers and yanks them down while the black-haired man is taking his shirt off.

Harry is in his underwear at last and Draco checks him out. Given the enthusiasm shown to him, Harry feels quite bold so he grabs Draco's towel and throws it away, revealing his throbbing, erected cock.

Now it's Harry turn to admire the other man's body for a moment.

“Sit on your bed” Harry says in a commanding voice.

Draco is turned on by the way Harry's taking control of the situation, so he complies.

Harry gets down on his knees in front of Draco and he starts exploring the pale skin with his hands. First Draco's thighs, then up his hips and his torso and then down to the dark blond patch of hair.

Harry cautiously looks Draco in the eyes while taking his cock in his hand. Draco moans in pleasure.

Harry starts moving his hand up and down and Draco closes his eyes and continues moaning, leaning back on his arms.

Harry feels the urge to suck Draco's cock so he does. He licks the tip while still moving his hand up and down. Draco's arms start shaking and Harry isn't sure if that's good or not so he stops to ask “Is everything alright? Should I stop?”

Draco opens his eyes and stares him down with a mix of lust ad fury. Seeing as Harry cannot read what's going on in the blonde's head, Draco takes matters into his own hands.

He literally grabs Harry's nape and forces his head down on his cock again. Taking the hint, Harry starts licking the tip again, then musters up enough courage to open his mouth enough to let Draco's dick slide in.

It's a whole new sensation for both of them. One of Draco's arms gives in and he falls back on the mattress. He's moaning louder. Harry tastes Draco's skin and finds it salty from the spilling juice.

Harry starts moving his head up and down, while keeping his hand at the base of Draco's cock. Draco continues moaning and that makes Harry even more aroused. He wants to suck Draco dry. Harry hollows his cheeks and starts pumping with his hand as well.

“More!” Draco cries out, giving Harry more stamina.

With one final loudest “Fuck... Harry!” Harry feels a jet of liquid shooting down his throat. He gags but resists the urge move away. He wants to swallow every drop of Draco's come.

Harry slides away with a pop of his mouth and moves to lie next to Draco.

Draco's eyes are still closed and he's taking in ragged breaths. His hand moves to his right to find Harry's and give it a squeeze.

“Did you like it?” Harry asks with a grin.

Draco widens his eyes in stupor, “What does it look like? Are you daft?”

“Then how about you exchange the favour?” Harry asks while grabbing his own erections and starting to move his hand up and down.

Draco sighs and turns to his side. He tries to get up but his legs don't cooperate.

Harry smirks noticing how he sucked the energy out of him. “It's fine, you can just help me with this” and stops moving his hand to grab Draco's. He pulls the blonde's hand to his cock and starts pumping.

Soon it's Harry turn to moan in pleasure. Draco is putting a lot of effort into the movement but he can see it isn't affecting his lover as much as he was affected by him. He quickly decides this won't do so he moves to a more comfortable position, on top of Harry.

Draco starts kissing Harry softly, then he forces his tongue into Harry's mouth and explores it. He can taste himself and this new sensation adds to the lust he's feeling. A naughty thought forms in Draco's head and he starts moving his tongue in and out of Harry's mouth at the same pace he's moving his other hand up and down Harry's shaft.

Harry's moans are muffled but more intense and he can't help it but grab Draco's arse.

Draco's arm is a bit tired from holding the weight of his upper body, and so he thinks it's time to move things along, so he whispers into Harry's ear “Since you seem to like my arse, how about next time, you take it?”

This idea makes Harry reach his climax and he screams “Fuuuck yooouu...”

Draco gives Harry's neck one last lick, then he moves to lay on his side and rest his hand on Harry's stomach.

As soon as Harry is able to control his breathing again, Draco says sultry “About what you just said... that's exactly what I meant a minute ago...”

Harry laughs and Draco does too.

“Aren't you supposed to be going to work this morning?” Draco says while they are cuddling each other.

“Yes, especially since you ran away last night.” Harry says warily. “I think they're expecting a valid explanation if they found out what happened and I'm not sure what to tell them”.

“You know I didn't run away” Draco tenses.

“Yes, _I_ know. I'm not sure if _they_ will believe me.” Harry sighs. “Nobody knows you like I've come to know you these past two years.”

Draco's expressions shifts to a worried one.

“I'm not going to tell them how much I know you now, don't worry.” Harry quickly clarifies, referencing to their newfound intimacy. “I just mean I know you thought I was distant lately, so you felt like you needed to catch my attention somehow and that's what you did.”

“I was _not_ trying to catch you attention!” Draco denies, offended. “I just wanted to live one night as a free Muggle person.”

Harry looks at Draco intensely, not buying his reply.

“Okay, maybe I was trying to catch you attention.” Draco concedes. “But I certainly did not mean it to unfold like that.” He moves away as reality is sinking in.

“Of that I'm sure” Harry jokes giving Draco a once over.

“So what are you going to say?” Draco sits up and looks away, ready to escape the difficult situation.

“That I forgot to lower the wards even if I promised I would let you go out on your own so we could meet at that pub and see how it went.” Harry makes up as he speaks.

“Will they believe you?” Draco's voice now clearly shows how worried he is of what the consequences might be.

“Let's hope so” is all Harry can say. “I cannot make any promises but I'll do everything in my power to keep you with me, now that I've got you.” He concludes grabbing Draco's arms to pull him down in an embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's that.  
> I am not sure whether this story is actually complete. It seems like there's room for more but I've been sitting on it for a year without making any progress so I thought it was about time to publish it and have some feedback. Maybe someone's comment can give me inspiration to write more? Who knows.  
> Anyway, I would love to hear what you think about the whole thing.  
> THANK YOU for reading! :)


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